1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to a new method of, and a twin-chambered stoppering arrangement for, riddling fermented bottled wines, particularly champagnes.
2. Description of Related Art
In the making of a fine bottled wine, and particularly in the making of champagne, which is fermented in a bottle, a base wine, usually a blend of two or more wines, was made in or poured into the bottle. To the base wine, predetermined amounts of sugar and yeast were added. The bottle was capped with a temporary crown cap and put away to ferment. The yeast fed on the sugar and produced alcohol and carbon dioxide gas. The bottle was left this way for a long time, typically from 2 to 5 years. During this time, the wine picked up subtle flavors from the spent yeast and developed a fine, long-lived carbonation.
However, during this time, a sediment also was formed as a natural result of the fermentation process. This sediment included yeast and suspended solids, often in the form of extremely fine particles which impart a cloudy appearance and a gritty taste to the wine. The yeast sediment was quite bitter and it had to be removed, not only to render the wine more palatable, but also to impart a sparkling, clear appearance thereto. The removal of such sediment from bottled wine is known as "riddling".
The traditional riddling method called for the bottled wine to be placed neck down into a slanted rack where it was shaken and turned slightly by hand every day for 6 to 8 weeks. This manual action, aided by gravity, moved the sediment down into the neck of the inverted bottle. Mechanical riddlers of the type described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,356,208 also were used to riddle champagne since they were faster and less expensive than strictly manual methods.
In the past, the yeast sediment was then removed from the neck by a number of methods. According to one method, after the champagne was fermented in the bottle, the entire contents of the bottle were transferred to a filter tank where the sediment was filtered out before the now-sediment-free champagne was poured into another bottle for final corking and sale. In another method, large stainless steel tanks were used to ferment and filter the champagne before the filtered product was poured into a bottle.
In still another method, the bottles were placed neck down in a cold solution after the sediment had moved into the neck of the bottle. The cold solution froze a couple of inches of the sediment and wine in the neck. After a few minutes, the bottle was righted. A disgorging machine popped off the temporary crown cap, thereby allowing the pressurized non-frozen contents within the bottle to shoot out the frozen plug of sediment. The small amount of wine that was lost in the popped-off frozen plug was immediately replaced by an additional dosage typically consisting of wine, sometimes a little brandy, and also usually some sugar.
In the prior art methods, the bottles were sealed with the traditionally mushroom-shaped cork only after the yeast sediment had been riddled. After "resting" for another 3 to 4 months, or so, the resulting champagne was ready to drink.
Although the known riddling methods have been satisfactory, they have, however, been wasteful of time and money and required an inordinate amount of special handling. Also, when part of the wine was subjected to freezing temperatures, the wine quality suffered. When the traditional "methode champenoise", i.e. where the fermentation and yeast sediment formation occurred in the same bottle in which the champagne was eventually sold, was not employed, the champagne was not of the same quality and was sold at less expensive prices.